Criminal Threats (PC 422) in Los Angeles
Penal Code § 422 · CALCRIM 1300
Criminal threats is a "wobbler": the prosecutor can file it as a misdemeanor or a felony, and the felony version counts as a strike. So much depends on the exact words, the setting and how the listener reacted that we often find these cases more defensible than they look at first.
We defend people charged with crimes in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties. We do not file lawsuits or represent victims.
In plain English
How serious is this?
A criminal threat is a threat to seriously hurt or kill someone, made in a way that puts them in real and lasting fear. One sentence can be enough to charge it. The law still sets a high bar for what counts, and that bar is where we start building the defense.
| Case reference | PC 422 · criminal threats |
|---|---|
| Section | PC 422 |
| Severity | Wobbler (misd / felony) |
| Act required | Words only |
| Injury required | No |
| Custody exposure | ≤ 1 yr jail · or 16 mo–2–3 yrs prison |
| Strike | Yes if felony |
| Weapon add-on | +1 yr if used |
| Instruction | CALCRIM 1300 |
Reduction paths: PC 17(b) motion · plea to attempted threat, disturbing the peace (PC 415), or harassment. Each threatened person can be a separate count. Figures are ranges — confirm against current statute.
What it carries, on paper
| Penalty | Range |
|---|---|
| If a misdemeanor | Summary probation · up to 1 year county jail · fine |
| If a felony | Formal probation · 16 months, 2, or 3 years state prison · fine up to $10,000 |
| Weapon enhancement | One additional, consecutive year if a deadly or dangerous weapon was used to make the threat |
| Strike consequences | A felony conviction counts as a strike — future felonies carry doubled sentences and reduced credits |
| Firearms | A felony conviction means a lifetime firearms ban; a misdemeanor carries a 10-year ban |
| Immigration | Can be treated as a crime involving moral turpitude — serious risk for non-citizens |
| Also expect | Possible protective order · counseling · victim restitution |
The first few hours
Common mistakes people make early
People tend to talk after a 422 arrest, and that's risky. In a case about words and context, what you say afterward can count as much as the original remark.
Before the first meeting
What to bring your lawyer
- Any charging or arrest paperwork, and any protective order.
- The whole exchange: every text, email, voicemail, DM or post, complete and in order, not only the part being quoted against you.
- Your honest account of what was said, what led up to it, and your relationship with the other person.
- Names and phone numbers of anyone who was there or heard it.
Mitigation packet — bring whatever applies
Good outcomes often turn on who you are, not just what happened. Start gathering these early — we use them to argue for reduction, diversion, or a lighter sentence. This same packet helps in any charge we defend, so it's worth building once and keeping.
- Education — diplomas, transcripts, enrollment or admission letters.
- Family & dependants — photos of your children and family, and proof you support them.
- Military service — proof of service or discharge papers (DD-214).
- Employment — proof of work, a letter from your employer, recent pay records.
- Medical — diagnosis, hospital records, and treatment history for any condition.
- Steps already taken — proof of enrollment in an anger-management, counseling, or treatment program.
- Character — reference letters and evidence of community or volunteer involvement.
What you can do now
- Keep the whole conversation. Screenshot all of it in context, and don't delete or edit anything.
- Don't contact the other person, yourself or through friends. Your lawyer handles all of it.
- Consider enrolling voluntarily in an anger-management or counseling program — starting before court shows real initiative.
- While it's fresh, write down exactly what was said and what was going on around it.
- Avoid discussing the case with anyone but your lawyer — and never on social media.
The law — for counsel
Elements
CALCRIM 1300 sets out what the People must prove beyond a reasonable doubt:
Penal Code § 422 · CALCRIM 1300
(1) The defendant willfully threatened to unlawfully kill or cause great bodily injury to another person; and (2) the threat was made orally, in writing, or by electronic communication; and (3) the defendant intended the statement to be understood as a threat, and intended it be communicated to the target; and (4) the threat was so clear, immediate, unconditional, and specific that it conveyed a serious intention and an immediate prospect that it would be carried out; and (5) the threat actually caused the target to be in sustained fear for their own safety or that of their immediate family; and (6) that fear was reasonable under the circumstances.
Counterintuitive points
- No intent, or ability, to actually carry it out is required. The crime is the threat and its effect, not any plan to act.
- "Sustained fear" is a real threshold. Momentary or fleeting fear is not enough — fear that is brief and quickly dispelled can defeat the charge.
- Conditional, vague, or emotional outbursts may fall outside the statute where they lack the required immediacy and specificity — context is everything (In re George T.).
- A pure gesture or ambiguous act is not enough — the threat must be communicated as a threat; but it can be conveyed through a third party.
- Specific intent crime. Unlike ADW, the defendant must intend the statement be taken as a threat — which opens genuine intent defenses (venting, joke, hyperbole).
- Counting. Each person placed in sustained fear can be charged as a separate count; multiple threats to one person over one objective may not multiply.
Where it is fought
Jury instructions & bench notes
- CALCRIM 1300 is the core instruction.
- Watch the bench notes on "sustained fear," on the unequivocal/unconditional/immediate/specific requirement, and on the reasonableness of the fear.
- Lesser included / alternative instructions worth considering: attempted criminal threat, and PC 415 (disturbing the peace).
- First Amendment overlay: true-threat analysis (In re George T.; and note recent U.S. Supreme Court treatment of the mental-state requirement for true threats).
Common defenses
- Not a genuine threat: vague, ambiguous, conditional, or hyperbole — lacking the immediacy and specificity the statute demands.
- No sustained fear: the reaction was fleeting, or later conduct (staying, laughing, continued contact) undercuts the claim of lasting fear.
- Fear was not reasonable under the circumstances.
- No intent it be taken as a threat: venting, a joke, or emotional outburst — the specific-intent element is the most attackable.
- Protected speech: the statement falls outside the "true threat" exception to the First Amendment.
- False or exaggerated accusation: impeach with the full exchange, motive, and prior inconsistent statements.
- Mistaken identity where the threat was electronic or relayed.
- Unlawful search or interrogation: suppression under PC 1538.5 / Miranda.
Los Angeles County
Criminal threats charges in Los Angeles
Many PC 422 cases in LA start with a text, a voicemail or a social media post. The exact words and the context around them decide the case.
| In LA | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Who files | The LA County District Attorney for felony filings; a city prosecutor if it is filed as a misdemeanor inside city limits. |
| Evidence | Messages, call logs and posts are pulled by LAPD or the Sheriff. Your own copies, with the full thread, often matter more. |
| Where heard | Foltz downtown, the Airport Courthouse for the Westside, Van Nuys or San Fernando for the Valley, Pasadena for the San Gabriel Valley. |
We take cases from across Los Angeles County, including Downtown LA, Koreatown, Hollywood, Echo Park and Boyle Heights; Pasadena, Alhambra, East LA, Pomona and Whittier.
Common questions
FAQs
01Can I really be charged over just words?
Yes, unfortunately. Criminal threats needs no weapon and no violence; the words are the offense if they were serious, specific, and caused real, lasting fear. That last part is a high bar, and it is why many of these cases can be defended.
02Does a text or social-media post count?
It can. Prosecutors treat a text, email, DM or post the same as something said out loud. We usually find the messages around it matter as much as the one quoted.
How we help
Talk to us before you talk to anyone else
A 422 is made of words, so the context decides it. We ask for the whole exchange, not the screenshot someone gave the police: what came before, what came after, and what both people did next. If someone stays in the room, keeps texting, or waits a week to report, that says something about sustained fear. And specific intent is still the hardest element for the People to prove.
We cover Los Angeles County Superior Court in all districts — Airport, Downtown (CCB and Metro), Van Nuys, Long Beach, Pasadena, Torrance, Inglewood, Compton, Downey, Norwalk, Alhambra, Bellflower, West Covina, Pomona, San Fernando, and the rest of the county.
Because a 422 can be filed as a misdemeanor or as a felony carrying a strike, the filing decision matters as much as anything that happens later. Where the case has not yet been filed we put our work in front of the prosecutor early, then carry it through arraignment, discovery, motions, the preliminary hearing and resolution with the same two attorneys throughout.
Law Office of Aaron P. McAllister — Aaron P. McAllister, Esq., responsible attorney. 3415 S Sepulveda Blvd, Suite 1100, Los Angeles, CA 90034. Attorney advertising. This page is general information about California law, not legal advice. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Submitting information through this website does not create an attorney–client relationship.